Street-cleaning machine.



R. C. MENZIES.

STREET CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1.910.

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Inventor Attorneys R. G. MENZIES.

STREET CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21. 1910.

Patented Jan. 9, 1912.

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J YhN NF \wm a Wh I am Inventor Attarnevs ROBERT CHARLES MENZIES, 0F GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK.

STREET-CLEANING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 21, 1910.

Patented Jan. 9, 1912.

Serial No. 583,076.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT C. MENZIES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glens Falls, in the county.of Warren and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Street-Cleaning Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to street cleaning machines, of that type better known as selfloaders, the principal object of the present invention being to provide means whereby caked accumulations of dirt may be scraped and loosened in advance of the brush, said scraping means being normally held out of contact with the surface to be cleaned and being provided with means under the control of the operator whereby the same can be held in contact with the said surface as long as desired.

Another object is to provide a street cleaner adapted to be drawn by draft animals and certain of the wheels of which constitute means for operating the brush, said wheels having hubs, formed with flanges to which drive elements may be readily connected. With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a street sweeper having the present improvements combined therewith. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sweeper. Fig. 3 is a side view of a modified form of brush. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through one of the hubs.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates the rear axle of the machine, the same being supported by wheels 2 and 3. The wheel 2 constitutes a driving element and has a hub 4, formed at its inner end with an annular flange 5 to which is bolted or otherwise secured, a gear 6 which rotates with the wheel 2.

A frame 7 is supported at its rear end by the axle 1 while its front end is supported by the axle 8 of the steering wheels 9, there being thills 10 or the like connected to this front axle.

The frame 7 has hangers 11 extending downwardly therefrom and supporting a platform 12 on which the dirt receptacle 13 is to be supported,-said receptacle being located under a hopper 14 carried by the frame, and being, held against displacement relative to the platform by means of chains 15 or the like extending to the sides of the receptacle and attached to the hangers.

A hood 16 is extended rearwardly from the axle 1, and is supported in any suitable manner from the frame 7, this hood having arcuate slots 17 in the side walls thereof and into which project the ends of the shaft 18 of the rotary brush 19 which is housed within the hood 16. Said shaft is carried by arms'20 pivotally mounted on the axle 1, the two arms being connected, by links 21, to a bail-shaped member 22, which extends transversely of the rear portion of the frame 7, and is pivotally connected to said frame. This member 22 has an arm 23 rigidly connected to it and extending forwardly therefrom, said arm being connected, as by a rod 24, to an arm 25 extending upwardly from one end of a rock shaft 26 j ournaled upon the frame 7. Another arm 27 extends upwardly from this rock shaft and is connected by a rod 28 to an actuating lever 29.

Inclined guide rails 30 extend downwardly' and rearwardly from the back end of the hopper 14 and are provided, at their lower ends, with supports 31 on which a dirt receiver 32 normally rests. This receiver is disposed directly back of a dirt pan 33, designed to receive sweepings from the brush 19 and to guide them to the receiver 32. Links 34 connect the receiver 32 with one end of an angular lever 35 fulcrumed on the frame 7 and having an arm 36 extending perpendicularly therefrom, close to the drivers seat 37. Springs 38 are con nected to the lever 35 at the fulcrum thereof and serve to assist in swinging the lever upwardly when it is desired to elevate the dirt-receiver 32 in the manner hereinafter set forth. A suitable catch 39 is carried by the lever and serves to engage the frame 7 for the purpose of locking the lever in tween the rails 30, this extension being adapted to move against a cross rod 43 carried by the frame 7 and close to the upper ends of the rails 30.

A coiled spring'44 extends downwardly from frame 7 and back of the receptacle 13 and is connected to the upper end of a stem 45 having rearwardly projecting arms 46 at its lower end and to which is connected the head 47 of the scraper. This scraper is preferably in the form of a brush having stiff bristles of wire or the like and the spring 44 serves to hold the said scraper normally out of contact with the surface to be cleaned. In order that the stem 45 may be properly guided during its up and down movement, a link 48 is pivotally connected to the hangers 11 and also to the stem. This link is bail-shaped, so as to embrace the receptacle 13. By providing this bail shaped link and connecting it to the lower portion of the hangers hand the stem 45, said stem is properly braced during the operation of the brush and, at the same time, is permitted to move upwardly and downwardly.

A guide sheave 49 is mounted upon the platform 12 adjacent the back thereof and another guide sheave v50 is supported below the drivers seat 37. A cord or chain 51 is mounted on the'sheaves and is secured, at one end, to the upper end of the stem 45 while its other end is attached to a foot lever 52 arranged in front of the seat 37. Upward movement of this foot lever may be limited by means of a cord or chain 53.

When it is desired to operate the machine, the brush 19 is lowered into contact with the ground by shifting lever 29. The machine is then driven forward, motion being transmitted to the brush from the hub 4 through gear 6 and a gear 54 which is connected to one of the projecting ends of shaft 18. The dirt will be swept onto the pan 33 and directed by said pan to the receiver 32. Should it be desired to scrape or loosen any incrustations in the path of the brush, the

driver presses downwardly on the foot 1ever 52, thus causing the connection 51 to pull stem 45 downwardly against the stress of spring 44, and bringing the scraper 47 into contact with the ground. As soon as the foot lever 52 is released, the spring 44 returns the parts to their initial positions. When the receiver 32 becomes filled, the machine is stopped and the driver pulls forwardly on arm 36 after first releasing the catch 39 by means of lever 41. The forward movement of arm 36 is assisted by the springs 38 which are normally under stress and as lever 35 swings upwardly and forwardly, it pulls upon receiver 32 and causes it to slide upwardly on the rails 30 until the hooked extension 42 strikes the rod 43, whereupon the receiver will be tilted and its contents dumped into the hopper l4 and directed thereby into the receptacle 13. As soon as the movement of arm 36 is reversed, the receiver 32 will be returned to its lowermost position and catch 39 will operate to lock it in suchposition until again released. As shown in Fig. 2, two receptacles 13 may be mounted 1n the machine, each receptacle being provided with a hopper 14.

Instead of forming a-scraper' of a head 47 fixedly connected to its support, as shown in Fig. 1, said scraper may consist of a revoluble brush 55 carried by the stem 45 and provided with a sprocket 56 driven by a chain 57 which, in turn, is mounted on a sprocket 58 which is connected to the hub of wheel 2. It will thus be seen that when the machine is driven forward, motion will be transmitted through the sprockets 58 and 56 and the chain 57 to the brush 55.

What is claimed is:

In a street cleaning machine the combination with a wheel supported frame, a platform, and hangers for supporting the platform below the frame, of a stem, rearwardly extending arms integral with the stem at the lower end thereof, a scraping brush fixedly connected to said arms, a spring connecting the upper end of the stem to the frame and constituting means for yieldingly supporting the brush out of cont-act with the ground, a yoke-like link pivotally connected to the hangers and to the stem, a foot lever carried by the frame and a flexible connection between the foot lever and the stem and operable to shift the stem against the stress of the spring and to move the brush into contact with the ground.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signa- Witnesses:

C. H. PEDDRIoK, Jr., L. A. JONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

